Sports Mania

My little soccer stars are having a fabulous season! 

Katie is on the 6th grade CYO team for Holy Family.  (You don't have to go to the school to be on the team, you just have to be a member of one of the five participating parishes).  It is great for her to be with her friends for two practices and two games per week.  She has a great coach, and a nice group of girls on her team.  She scored her first goal ever, a few games ago!

Megan is on the U9 local rec team with mostly Holy Family kids.  Again, it is great for her to be with her friends for the practice and the 1-2 games per weekend.  Her team has the same coach as Katie's, and has a very talented group of soccer stars.  Megan usually scores 1-2 goals per game.  She is so quiet and focused, and driven to score!

Jessica is on the U6 local rec team with a mix of girls.  We asked to be on a team with girls from her school, but I guess no one else signed up, so she's with another school.  It's fine, everyone's very nice.  Chris is her coach!  Jessi is an amazing little player.  She takes her position very seriously, especially as goalie or defense.  She will not let that ball go past her!  When she's forward, she scores several times per shift.  I don't think she's particularly athletic or talented, but she really gets the game and what to do, whereas most 5-6 yr olds don't.

Jessica is also trying T-ball this fall.  We found a short little "fall ball" league, with her good friend Danny, and Danny's dad as the coach.  Again, she is amazing at t-ball!  She has never played, but is very determined to learn the game.  She loves playing catch and watching the Tigers now!  "They are just like t-ball, mom!"  She is a very focused little kiddo.  Her first game was this week, and she hit the longest balls of the night - two to the pitcher's mound, and one past the pitcher's mound!  Ha ha!

And she's safe!  (There are no outs in this league, though)

I love this one!  The batter doesn't know where to go.  Jessi is nearly home.  And the diving catch is really a kid who tripped over his teammates!  Ha ha!

Jess in the outfield.  She loves practicing catching ground balls and throwing them to first base.

She hits just like Miguel Cabrera!

I have no idea why there's a kid running behind her!

Jess towers over the other 4-6 year olds.

And all three girls are in ballet this year, too.  No pics of that, yet. 

We have a big race coming up this weekend, the Brooksie Way in Rochester Hills. Chris is running the half marathon for the 6th year in a row.  Katie and Meg are running the 5K.  Jess and I will be cheerleaders!

Our fall sports mania is crazy, but mostly tons of fun.  The weather's been great, and we love being outside.  We love hanging out with our friends.  And we love cheering each other on!

Catching up!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted! Sorry! September has been a very fun whirlwind! Let me post some pics to catch up.

We are turning into total foodies. We LOVE veggie dinners! Beets and greens, eggplant/tomato/goat cheese sandwiches, and zucchini - all from our garden!




We went to Rochester's Art and Apples Festival, and recognized an Alpena artist there! From Art in the Loft, where Justin works!




Jessi is a soccer superstar! She is amazing, she really understands the game, and plays her position perfectly.




I am a volunteer caretaker of nine raised bed gardens at our farmers market. All produce is donated to a local food bank. One day we found a friend at the garden!




Our dahlias are in their prime now! I love these!




I planted some 'flowering' kale to spruce up the cemetery for fall.




We made Aunt Jenny's famous sugar cookies for the MSU tailgate party. Footballs for the game, musical notes for the band, shamrocks for the ND game, and umbrellas for my flooded siblings in CO.




Some yahoo hired a sky writer to do this at the MSU game!




Meg with G&G Christensen. Notice the lime smile.




I got tix off stubhub, so Megan and I got to go to the game!




The best part was the band!




Oh, and seeing Johnny Spirit on our way to get popcorn and melting moments ice cream cookie sandwiches!




After halftime, we moved down to some open seats by G&G.







My little monkey!




The next weekend, watching the ND/MSU game. The girls and I were conflicted!




We've already made a trip to Yates for donuts and cider. They're celebrating their 150th year!




Last weekend was our parish picnic. The theme was Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and the decorations and crafts were so fun! However, I only got pics of the pony rides:










We are still in garden harvest overload. Lots of beets, spinach and kale, potatoes, and tomatoes! Our community garden is overgrown with banana peppers and eggplants, too.





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First day of school!

Tuesday was the first day of school for the girls. It went great!

Katie had a full day at Hart Middle School. She got up very early for her bus (6:50 pickup), and managed the day wonderfully.











Meg and Jess had a half day. I drove them to school, and we got there early so I could help them find their line-up spots. I stayed with Jess to come into her class for an hour of fun activities!
































Everyone had a great first day! Today (full day for everyone) was even better! The girls love their teachers, eating in the cafeteria, and all of the specials (art all year, gym and music twice a week).


Oh, and Jessi started soccer practice on Tuesday. She has a small team, but a great coach! Chris!


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